Tokimeki Hetalia: Russia's Side
by rosenthal
Summary: Modern HumanAU, Yaoi, High-school setting. Based on the game Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side. Ivan Braginski starts his new life as a student of the prestigious W Academy. The night before the Welcoming Ceremony, he dreams about a long-forgotten childhood friend. Will they cross paths again and rekindle their friendship? Or will he find more than frienship during the next 3 years?
1. Start

**Tokimeki Hetalia: Russia's Side**

**Intro:**

For those who don't know, Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side is a japanese dating simulator for girls (otome game). The main character is a girl that just entered high school. For the next 3 years until graduation, you need to raise your stats and woo the guy of your choice. There are English patches for TMGS1 and 2 for DS and also TMGS3 for psp. I won't supply links, just google it if you are interested.

My initial approach was to write a fanfiction with a female heroine (Liechtenstein) just like the game. But, since I am a shameless fujoshi, halfway through the planning I started imagining how Tokimemo would be with one of the male nations as the MC pursuing/being pursued by other males. Still, I couldn't pick a MC for the yaoi version of Tokiheta. I have my ships, the story would be completely biased, and the fun of Tokimemo is being able to choose and explore the many routes and guys. That is… Until a thought crossed my mind: RUSSIA. Russia as the main character, the MC of a dating sim? I laughed so hard, it was so crack-ish that I couldn't banish the idea from my mind anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I love Russia. Ivan is one of my favorite characters from Hetalia, but he isn't the most, uh, romantic guy there (not in the normal sense). And that would make it so much funnier. I decided to make a crack!fic out of this, but somehow it turned serious. I can't write crack even if my life depended on it. Sooo… This story is supposed to be a sort-of-crack-ish-but-turned-serious-fic. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore… Well, whatever. I'm having fun, if you also have fun then that's a plus. I appreciate constructive criticism (especially towards my grammar, English isn't my native language), ideas and maybe in the future I'll make voting polls to make crucial decisions on the storyline (like which club Ivan will join, part-time jobs, who will he pursue, things like that).

Oh yeah, before people flame me about the progression of the school year, events and all, I'll have you know that I'm following the game's calendar! The school year will begin in April, there will be a big summer break and two smaller breaks (winter and spring), and all that jazz. Even though the story is supposed to happen somewhere in Europe, it will follow the Japanese schedule.

**Important/Disclaimer: **

This is a HumanAU! They are all humans, not nations, and I'll use their human names. Yaoi means boy dates boy, if it's not your thing stop reading now. The title is "Russia's Side" just because I still find amusing when I picture Russia as the MC of a dating sim. Also, this is a Hetalia FANfiction based on Tokimeki Memorial. It means I don't own the characters (besides an OC here or there), nor the setting and basic premises.

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 1: Start<strong>

*BEEPEEPEEP*BEEPEEPEEP*BEEPEEPEEP*

The figure under the sheets stirred, pale ashen blond gleaming under the strands of sunlight that entered the room through a crack between the curtains. Being brought back to reality from a blissful dream about a field of sunflowers, he rolled to the side and slammed his alarm clock off.

*BEEPEEPEEP*BEEPEEPEE- SLAM!

Ivan opened his sleepy eyes only to shut them again, cursing in Russian, as the sunlight hit his pupils directly. He rolled to the other side of his bed, yawned and opened his eyes again, revealing two exquisite violet irises. He sat up and stretched. Feeling a bit more awake, he scanned around his new room.

Oh yes, his new room. A childish smile graced his features.

His mother got a raise as a head nurse and his father got a promotion on the import company he worked for, so the Braginskis decided to move to a better neighborhood after years saving up money. He was pleased with the new furniture in his bedroom – the furnishings had a simple and practical clean-cut design, but were made with real wood instead of flimsy compressed material. Mahogany in particular was an all-time favorite of his, the deep brown color with red tints gives the room a regal and somber air at the same time.

Other 15-year-olds would scorn his preferences, calling it an "old man's taste", and decorate their bedrooms with plastic, metal, glass, mirrors and the aforementioned flimsy compressed material just because they are modern. Their walls would be covered with bands/idols/sports posters and the like. But not Ivan Braginski. He'd rather have a single framed replica of a Russian painting hanging on his wall over the writing-desk across the room from his bed. More precisely, Shishkin's "Rain in an Oak Forest".

His half-asleep reverie was cut short with the sight of the unopened boxes around his room. A new room means moving, moving means packing and unpacking, and he wasn't finished with the unpacking part. He'd better get a move on if he wanted to finish it any time soon instead of laze around all day.

Ivan stood up and stretched once more, casting a shadow of his tall and big frame on the closet doors as the stray sun rays from the partially covered windows hit his back and formed an almost angelic halo when his white skin and pale hair glimmered. It seems that his room faced east and next time he went to sleep, he would have to make sure the curtains were properly closed to avoid a second assault of the full morning glory on his retina.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, the ruski went downstairs to have breakfast. Three steps down, a mouthwatering smell filled his nostrils, making his stomach rumble in anticipation. Whoever was responsible for the enticing smell was still around the kitchen as the sounds of pans hinted it. _'Strange'_, he thought, _'Mat' and otets should have left by now…'_. He made his way down the stairs quickly and as he entered the kitchen, the mystery was solved. A young woman with short blond hair with the same shade as his stood in front of the stove, preparing something.

"Sestra!" Ivan exclaimed gleefully, the little smile never faltering. "You are here!"

His older sister (or sestra, since he liked to use the Russian word for sister) turned abruptly and gave a big heartwarming smile when she saw her little brother: "Vanya!"

They hugged each other with gusto and then parted. The older sister, Ekaterina, had moist eyes and sniffed as if she was on verge of tears. "Oh look how my baby brother grew up and became so big and strong!"

"Um, sestra, we were apart for only a week, I don't think I grew up that much during that time…"

"Maybe, but it finally dawned on me that you are a high schooler now… Sniff…"

Sensing an impending waterfall of tears, Ivan was quick to change the topic: "So, what are you making? Won't it burn, da?" He pointed towards the pan on the stove.

With a little yelp, Ekaterina jumped back to the stove, big boobs bouncing haphazardly. She proceeded to man the kitchen, making what seemed to be…

"Ohh, blini…" Ivan could feel his mouth water. His sister only looked over her shoulder with a little smile and put the almost burnt pancake at the top of a small stack on the counter and said: "I only made a few so far, I was planning to call you when I finished."

"Da, I see… Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Well… You can set the table." the kettle started whistling "Oh, and make tea."

The younger sibling nodded his head and took the kettle from the stove. He chose to make chamomile tea – to soothe his older sister – and then put the dishes and silverware on the table. As he was working, he decided to engage on small conversation and hoped that he wouldn't trigger Katyusha's tears again.

"I thought you would only arrive in the afternoon, da?" It was a bit of a statement and a question at the same time.

"Oh, I finished settling myself at the dorms earlier than I predicted and managed to get the last bus. I arrived late at night, you were already sound asleep."

"Da… I was really tired after helping mat' with organizing the house."

Ekaterina chuckled. "Mother can be a slave driver sometimes…"

"Da, no wonder she is the head nurse at the hospital."

The conversation died naturally and a comfortable silence settled in the kitchen. They had a lot to talk about, but for now, both enjoyed each other's presence, something that would become a luxury on the near future. When Ivan decided that the tea had seeped for long enough and poured two cups, Ekaterina finished making all the blinis and poured some chocolate over them.

"We'll have to make do with chocolate. I still can't believe how expensive ikra is around here!" the older sibling made one of her rare annoyed faces for a split second then settled back to her usual apologizing expression and sat on one of the chairs. "I hope you don't mind."

"Nyet, nyet, the blini sestra makes is always delicious, da?" the teenager avoided a metaphorical landmine. As if to make a point, he sat across his sister and took a good bite of one blini and let out a satisfied "Yum! Very good!". Since their parents were often out at work, Katyusha acted as both an older sister and a mother. Anything that could cast a shadow of doubt over her parenting skills - such as cooking good food - was a sensitive topic and could make her cry at the drop of a hat. "Besides, it's more like ikra is cheap in Russia. Almost anywhere else it's called caviar and considered a delicacy to millionaires, da? Nothing we can do."

"As soon as I graduate college, I'll get a good job and buy lots of ikra, you'll see! I won't be a blundering burden anymore!" Resolution shone through her eyes. "I'll earn more than mat' and marry a man wealthier than otets!"

"Sestra, you are not a burden…" Ivan tried to reassure his sister, but his mind ventured into dark corners when Ekaterina finished her sentence. At the beginning she wasn't all that able in taking care of him and their younger sibling, always making mistakes and tripping on her own feet. But, even when she was still a blundering fool in middle school, due to the sudden development of her… physical assets… there was never a shortage of suitors pining for her. Even boys from extremely rich families tried to woo her. Thankfully, he also went through a growing spurt (maybe it is genetics?) and managed to scare away all the perverts with his towering height and sinister aura even when Ivan pretended to be 'cordial' and be all 'smiles' around them. The bone-breaking handshakes during greetings probably helped.

By now, Ivan emanated a purplish aura and breathed out a low "kolkolkolkol" while he pictured a certain Turkish fellow that worked with their father on imports. He tried to get close to his sister last year, even though the guy was probably around 30 years old! Ekaterina paled and quickly changed subjects before her brother bent the fork he was holding.

"So, tell me about your new school! I was surprised when the letter of acceptance came! I'm so proud of you!" Katyusha got up, circled the table and gave him a bear hug, successfully smothering him with her ample bosom.

Ivan tried to protest, but only his muffled cries could be heard. The older sister's breasts were dangerous weapons, both metaphorically and literally speaking. Feeling his lungs constrict due the lack of air, Ivan lightly smacked the woman's back, as a silent plea of 'let go!'. Ekaterina pulled back and tussled the younger's hair in an affectionate manner. "W Academy is a really prestigious school. You have always been a good, studious kid. You managed to do what I wasn't able to. Sniiifff…" Tears threatened to roll from her eyes.

"Da, but sestra managed to enter university!"

"A second-rate university, but I'm really happy I've managed to be accepted! I was so nervous after the entrance exams, thinking that I had flunked them…" She took out a handkerchief and dried the almost-tears. "I'm glad I have the chance to study agronomy. I've always enjoyed taking care of crops and plants in general. Maybe I'll help at dedushka's once I graduate."

Their grandparents from the mother side, the Chernenkos, own a sizable plot of land on Ukraine (not too big, but not small either). They grow beets and sunflowers. Their grandfather has always called Ekaterina a 'harvest goddess', because whenever she visited and helped around the plantation, they would have a spectacular harvest afterwards.

"I've met some of my dorm neighbors. The girls all seem very nice. I think we'll get along just fine." Katyusha nodded to herself, mentioning her dormitory mates in an attempt to ease any doubs Ivan had about she living on her own. He was really against her leaving home to attend university, saying something about a 'swarm of izvrashchentsy' and only relented when he learned about the girl's dorm. "Enough talking about me! What about you? Did you visit your new school?"

"Nyet, not yet. All I've done since we arrived yesterday was clean, unpack, organize and move furniture around. I didn't have the time to do anything else. From what I've seen from the internet, the school is within a 30 minute walk. I want to check out the course and the neighborhood as well."

"I have an idea! How about we take a leisure stroll after we finish organizing our stuff?"

"Da, that would be nice." Ivan's eyes crinkled a little at the sides and his smile grew a little, showing that he was feeling genuinely happy and wasn't sporting his everyday smiley façade.

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><p><strong>Author notes:<strong>

Wow, I've never thought I could be so… prolific. I hope it wasn't boring to you guys. What I intended with this chapter: 1) Describe Ivan's bedroom, 2) Give a bit of family background and 3) Get the feel of his personality. Because:

1) At Tokimemo, the bedroom you choose at the beginning of the game affects your initial parameters, so it's an important decision. Stoic decorations and a plethora of books probably mean high intelligence points, while flowerily and lacy rooms reward with high charm and/or style. Ivan's choice of furniture (or what I imagine a modern humanAU Russia choosing) reflects a conservative and stubborn person, with high regards for intellect and arts (it will become clearer at the next chapter). So, using Tokimemo parameters, Ivan's initial stats would be (in order of higher to lowest) Intelligence and Arts, Fitness, Charm, Style and Social.

2) The only family that is mentioned in Tokimemo is the heroine's younger brother in TMGS1, and only because that he acts as the wingman. Of course, I can't do the same in this fanfiction and completely ignore the existence of a family because Ivan's character would be incomplete without his sisters. So, I had to find a way to lower their interference to a minimum. In this case, Ekaterina (Ukraine) moved out to attend college. As for Natalya's (Belarus) situation, it will be explained at the next chapter. It was supposed to be part of chapter 1, but it was getting too long for my tastes.

3) My first few tries ended up with a completely OOC Russia. He was too sickly sweet to be Russia. OK, he is a caring brother toward his sisters (and this chapter mainly revolves around him talking with Ukraine), but I completely eclipsed his terrifying and possessive side. I hope it's better now.

**Translation notes: **(I don't know Russian, so this is all from google translator. I am listing down even the most obvious words)

Mat' or mama: mother

Otets or papa: father

Sestra: sister

Brat: brother. I ended up not using it because… Seriously? Ukraine calling Russia a brat?

Da: yes

Nyet: no

Blini: a kind of pancake

Ikra: fish eggs/caviar

Dedushka: grandfather

Izvrashchentsy: perverts

Vanya: endearing nickname for Ivan

Katyusha: endearing nickname for Ekaterina

**Help needed with: **

Okay, I've been racking my brain for a while listing up possible clubs for Ivan. Traditionally, at Tokimemo there are 8 'clubs' available to join: 4 sports-related, 4 culture-related. Each raise different parameters and allow the MC to meet a different guy. You can only be part of one at a time, but you can drop out and join another if you want. For now, I only managed to list 3 that will appear in the storyline for sure: The Student Council (not a club, but in-game it's considered culture-related), the Handicrafts Club and the Hockey Club. I'm uncertain about the following: gardening club, literature club, the Amateur Orchestra, Football club (the 'soccer' kind, not the 'american' kind). If you have a plausible idea (not a crack idea), please let me know. Or you can just cast a vote toward one of my uncertain ideas.


	2. Big Sister, Little Sister

**Chapter 2: Big Sister, Little Sister**

The Braginski siblings finished breakfast, washed the dishes and finally went upstairs. Ekaterina insisted in helping her brother and entered his new room for the first time.

"Wow, it looks great! I see that all the furniture is already arranged at their proper places." The left side nested the writing desk flanked by shelves at both sides. The right side had the nightstand, bed and a door to the bathroom. Next to the entrance was the closet and across it a window with deep-red curtains. "So, all you have to do is open those boxes and store your things at the proper places?"

"Da, exactly. But I'll organize them my way, so I don't know what you can help with…"

"Hmmm…" Ekaterina looked deep in though. "Have you already put all your clothes in the closet?"

"Nyet, most of them are still inside my bags."

"Then I'll do it! You don't have any problems if I organize them the same way they were at the old house, do you?" She opened the closet doors and realized with satisfaction that the internal arrangement was identical to the old one.

"Nyet, I don't see any problem. Spasibo."

Both of them went to work. Ivan decided to use the shelves to the left of the writing desk to store his books and studying material. The shelves on the right were for CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays, separating 'work' from 'entertainment'. He barely heard his sister saying something about ironing his clothes, he just let her do whatever she wanted to, and focused on the boxes labeled "literature" and "school".

Soon the left shelves were filled with all kind of books: drills, references, dictionaries, notebooks, and works from notable writers and poets like Pushkin, Martinow, Mayakovsky, Tchekov, Dostoiveski and Tolstoi. Next was his music and video collection. A huge part was dedicated to classical music. Even though he owned an iPod, he kept all his old CDs (and even bought a few more). Most of the DVDs and Blu-Rays were operas or ballet pieces. One of his favorite pieces was Giselle (he can appreciate non-russian art, he wasn't some kind of hardcore xenophobe). The choreography and costumes for the Willis and their Queen Myrtha was breathtaking.

The remainder of his video collection was about another passion of Ivan's: hockey. He even had recordings of 60's and 70's games. Looking at the cover of one his DVDs, his mouth twitched in annoyance. He only had this one for collection purposes; he didn't enjoy watching the 1960's Winter Olympics game between USA and URSS. Mainly because the US won. Oh, well. Ivan shoved the DVD at the darkest corner of the shelf and stored the remaining cases with more gentleness.

After some finishing touches (switching the placement of one case or another), the teenager stepped back a little and looked at the result of his work with satisfaction. Perfect! Now, what was his sister doing… He turned around and gasped.

"Sestra!"

"Hmm? What is it Vanya?"

The young male lunged forward and took the piece of clothing his sister was holding with lightning speed. More specifically, his red boxers, that were a shade similar to his blushing cheeks. "You don't need to sort out my underwear!"

"Silly brother, I've seen your underwear since you were a little toddler! I've washed them and even picked out some when I went shopping with mama." Well, that was a piece of information Ivan didn't want to know. He was aware that his sister washed his clothes (underwear included) when he was little. This changed 3 years ago when he entered middle-school and started being more independent and took the job to himself. But, to be reminded of that again with the additional scene of Katyusha choosing his underwear was mortifying.

"We-well, it was long ago! I can finish it myself, da? Also, you need to organize your own room. You'd better start now if you want to go take a walk later, da?" Ivan successfully pushed the older sibling out of his bedroom, but his round cheeks turned a deeper crimson when Katyusha talked some more:

"Ok, ok. Oh, but Vanya? Don't use those red boxers under light colored pants, especially white! It will show through!"

"I only wear them with black!"

One last push and he closed the door. He collapsed on his bed and hid his face on the pillows, waiting for the blush to subside. She meant well, but how could the older sibling not understand the need a young male had for privacy (any teenager, really, regardless of gender). It's not as if she never was his age before! At least he didn't own any of THOSE kind of magazines. It would have been extra shameful to have his sister dig them out of the boxes.

Ivan rolled and faced the ceiling. Whenever he started thinking too much of his sister he would become depressed. Oh yes, sisters. With a 's' at the end of the word. As in plural. He has more than one.

The older, Katyusha, is the motherly, naïve, crybaby. She was an able woman; after all, she managed to take care of them, but grew up with an alarming low self-esteem that made her cry for very little. In addition, she is perceptive and oblivious at the same time. She seems to notice how men are friendlier toward her when she shows a bit more cleavage, give 'squishy' hugs and all, but fail to understand they want more than friendship. In a way, Ekaterina managed to be manipulative without full knowledge of what she is doing.

As for the younger sister… The tall Russian shivered like a small kid afraid of ghosts. The youngest of them was terrifying. That's the right word, terrifying. Natalya is pretty and can be sweet, but her obsession with him reached alarming levels. At first, the family saw it as sibling possessiveness and jealousy: Natalya didn't like when Ivan paid attention to anyone else but her. As they became older, their parents even joked a little about her 'brother-complex'. That is, until two years ago.

Ivan was 13 and Natalya was 11. It was a stormy night and the younger sister took it as an opportunity to cling to him, claiming she was afraid of thunder. As a good older brother, he entertained her and allowed Natalya to huddle against him in his bed. Ivan was almost asleep when he heard the little sister chanting a disturbing "marry me, marry me, marry me", an iron grip on his arm with her nails almost drawing blood. At that point, he realized she was mad. Ivan managed to untangle himself from her hold and ran to the bathroom, locking himself in.

He still remembers the minute of relief when he didn't hear his sister screaming for him nor banging at the door. For a fleeting moment, the boy thought that his dear sibling realized how her actions were wrong and stopped chasing him. Until the first stab on the door. And the creepy tone of voice used to say "BroTHer… THiS dOOr daRES to StanD BEtweEn uS… Don'T wORRy I'm COMING!" Somehow she managed to break a hole on the door, pass her arm through it and unlock the latch. She entered the bathroom with the most horrifying look on her face, holding something sharp that gleamed against the lights.

She jumped over him and Ivan screamed for his dear life. She managed to rip his shirt, babbling something about becoming one with brother, but Ivan's mind were full of terrible scenes of murder-suicides to pay attention to her words. Almost as soon as she leapt over him, she was dragged back by their parents, a scared Katyusha peering from the hallway. They woke up when Natalya, their little 'Natasha', broke the door and rushed to the bathroom, avoiding a worse outcome.

A cold sweat jostled him back to the present. He was currently in his new home, lying over his bed, no Natalya around. No need to fear, she wasn't anywhere near him. He got up, checked the windows and the corridor outside his bedroom only to make sure his younger sister wasn't prowling around. Once Ivan felt reassured, he entered the bathroom and splashed his face with water. He recalled more of the events two years ago.

After Natalya went all psycho on him, they couldn't brush off her behavior as a childish brother complex anymore. Mother managed to pull some strings through contacts and made an emergency appointment with a shrink the next day. Since mother and father didn't want to put their youngest child on a mental institution, the doctor prescribed some heavy medication to keep her calm and guarantee the family's safety. It was heartbreaking to see little Natasha under the effects of the drugs: glazed eyes open but not seeing.

Their parents spent days looking for an alternative, and finally found the St. Jude Thaddeus School. The name is a tribute to the saint of impossible causes, one of Christ's Apostles that urged humankind to persevere despite all odds. That specific school is a boarding school for troubled children. Not only they offer a rigid school discipline, there is also medical and psychological monitoring. In short, it isn't an expensive dump for rebel dropouts, but rather a mesh between a school and a mental institute, one that treats the children as students rather than patients, thus their education isn't jeopardized by the circumstances.

At first, Braginski senior was skeptical. It sounded too convenient and the name implied a religious system. He worried about the school trying to brainwash Natalya into a loyal follower of whatever they preached there. Soon, his doubts were cleared. The school didn't encourage or discourage the practice of religion. There was an ecumenical chapel on the grounds for the religious kids, but there was no mass, preaching, or anything of the sorts. Actually, a good deal of the staff were men and women of science and atheist or non-practicing.

They have done a deeper research, contacted the staff and visited the grounds. Every person that knew the institute spoke about it in high regard (their mother was surprised that many of her acquaintances in the medical world knew the school). Sure, it would cut the student from the family and enforce strict rules, but it was far better than internship in a mental institute or rot the days away under sedatives at home. The Braginskis enrolled Natalya to St. Jude Thaddeus School as soon as a new school term begin. And she is still there right now.

Ivan inhaled and exhaled the air slowly, trying to collect his thoughts. Thinking deeply about his siblings (the younger one in particular), made him too depressed for his own good. He needed a distraction and went back to organizing his stuff.

Furniture ok, books ok, cds ok, videos ok, clothes… Oh, yes, he still needs to deal with his underwear. A snippet of recollection of what happened minutes ago flashed in his mind made him blush a little. Now he understood why some teenagers hung warnings on their doors like 'keep out!', 'do not enter' or even 'danger!'. It sounded stupid to him until yesterday, but, at this moment, he wanted to put a ban on his bedroom preventing anyone else from entering and touching anything. Especially his underwear. They were really private, otherwise they wouldn't be worn hidden under the clothes!

Ivan quickly put his small clothes away in the drawer and searched for something else to do. _'Oh, the printer and the iPod stand are still boxed. And my laptop is in my backpack. I'll organize them on my desk and test them.'_ He unpacked the aforementioned devices and put them over his desk. He turned on the computer and the printer, fed it some paper, typed the first poetry that crossed his mind and clicked to print it. The printer worked without problems and he read the words on the paper:

_Listotchki._

_Poslie strotchec lis_

_totchki._

"Comprehensive Picture of Spring" was a tricky poetry. It was basically a pun around the word listotchki (small leaves) that could be separated into lis (foxes) and totchki (dots). Nevertheless, since it was a pun, it was hard to translate to any other language. Simple and complex, that's why Ivan was found of it. The verses were easy to learn by heart, so whenever he tried to remember a Russian poetry, those three lines were the first to pop on his mind.

Next was his iPod. He put in the stand, turned on the speakers, selected shuffle and pressed play. He was quite pleased when Swan Lake drifted off the speakers. He sat on his chair and just zoned off for a while.

After some minutes, he glanced over his opened laptop and considered surfing the net. The music nagged a corner of his mind, telling Ivan that he wanted to do something related to Swan Lake. Swan lake, swan lake, swan, swan… _'That's it, Black Swan!'_

There is this American movie that came as a great surprise to him. It is categorized as a thriller/horror and was about a ballet dancer competing for the main role as the swan. He would dismiss anything related to American horror as some kind of tasteless serial killer or zombie flic. Black Swan is different. He accidentally saw the trailer on YouTube and got interested. He tried to download it before, but the file was corrupted and he couldn't open it. Then he forgot about it as final exams approached.

He searched for the film and found it. At the moment he clicked to download it, Ekaterina knocked on his door and called him: "Vanya, are you finished? It's already time for lunch."

"Da, I'm coming." He turned off his iPod and left the computer on to download the archive.

"The pantry and fridge don't have enough food to cook lunch, so I was thinking about going to a café I spotted on my way here. That could be part of our stroll around the neighborhood."

Ivan agreed and fished for his wallet inside his backpack. Before leaving, he carefully wrapped an old tan scarf around his neck and smiled. Katyusha smiled back, recognizing the scarf she gave him when they were small. They left home and felt the still chilly wind of the beginning of spring. Small leaves were carried by the wind, some fell over the a grassy patch over a neighbor's garden, some fluttered over the roof. Ivan followed them with his amethyst eyes and small smile. Such a coincidence. Such a comprehensive picture of spring.

"_The leaves._

_After the lines of lea –_

_the eaves."_

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><p><strong>Author notes:<strong>

Yay, teenager Ivan with teenager problems! I still think he is a little OOC, but I hope I get better at it.

Now you know what happened to Natalya. It was a bit harsh, but I don't believe her behavior would be acceptable if she was human and living in the real world.

Wow, I actually enforced a lot of my preferences over Ivan. I'm feeling kind of bad now. Although I DO believe he would enjoy everything I said he likes. For my defense, I don't even know the rules of hockey. I watched some games during this year's Olympics but I'm more of a curling fan (I got pissed off when the curling finals weren't broadcasted at my country because of the hockey finals). I don't know Comprehensive Picture of Spring by heart, nor do I have Swan Lake in my iPod. I was actually listening to Tchaikovsky's Winter Dreams while I wrote this chapter.

**Translation notes:**

Spasibo: Thank you

Natasha: endearing nickname for Natalya

I copied "Comprehensive Picture of Spring" ("Istcherpivaiuchaia Cartina Vesni") from my book. Maybe the spelling is a bit different from what is found on the internet. It is a poem by Mayakovsky.


	3. How Can I Make Some Friends?

**Warnings:** A bit of skinship, nothing heavy (I'm sticking with T-rated). All e-mails, phone number, site addresses, etc, are made up. Do not try to mail/call them, I don't know if they really exist or not.

**Chapter 3: How Can I Make Some Friends?**

Ivan and Ekaterina found the café with ease. It was located between their residential neighborhood and a more commercial side of the town. The café's name is Alucard and usually serves drinks, snacks and pastry. Lucky for them, during lunchtime they also serve simple set meals.

After their lunch, they walked around the area a bit more, spotting a small market, a convenience store and the train station. Good, they could easily ride a train to different parts of Hetalia City from there. It was 4pm and Ekaterina decided to do some groceries and return home before their parents. She planned to cook dinner to eat together as a family. In the end, they didn't visit W Academy during their stroll, but it was fine, Ivan still had the final day of Spring Break tomorrow to do it.

Once they got home, the teenager helped his sister with the groceries and went to his bedroom. There was enough time to watch the movie before their parents arrived. Before that, he tried to contact his old friends from middle school again. Ever since graduation day, their cellphones were out of service or ended on voicemail. He was a bit worried, but that was a common occurrence: every school break they would mysteriously vanish and tell him afterwards they went abroad to visit some relatives and couldn't contact Ivan from there.

As expected, the pre-recording of a voicemail greeted him. This time, he decided to leave a message to express how much he missed his comrades (they still don't know about W Academy nor the moving - there was so much to talk about!):

"Toris? It's me, da? You will never guess what happened this break. It involved a lot of dismantling, packing and carrying heavy things across the city. I had a lot of cleaning to do. It was tiresome but fun. I will tell the details later in person, da?"

"Eduard? It's me, da? I saw you edited your blog and used the Russian flag as your backdrop. Your last post also touched me, I'm glad you think of me as your best friend, da? I also consider you a good friend and really miss you screaming 'Latviaaaa'. We need to meet again soon, da?"

"Raivis? It's me, da? I miss your funny remarks. Have you grown since we last met? I'll make sure to measure you once we meet, da? Be careful during your last middle school year. You were always prone to accidents, so we don't want anything bad happening to you, da?"

Feeling satisfied with his simple display of longing - the message of how he treasured them would get across for sure - , Ivan turned his attention to the laptop. Before he managed to do anything else, his sister appeared at the door.

"Sestra? Do you need help with dinner?"

"No, I just got a message from otets telling me not to prepare dinner. He has a table reserved at a restaurant for us. I just came to chat a bit more. If I'm not intruding, of course."

"Nyet, do not worry. You can sit on my bed."

"Thanks! By the way, I heard you talking to your friends. How are they?"

"I was leaving voicemail, da? I don't have news on them, except from Eduard." Ivan's smile increased. "He left a nice post on his blog about his middle school life. He said that the best thing that have happened during that time was befriend me, da? I can show you, I've never heard him saying such things before."

"How wonderful! Come on, show me! You have such good friends!"

"The page is down, how odd… Maybe he's tinkering with it again?"

"What a pity… It will be nice if you remain friends even if you go to different high schools. Speaking of it, how are you feeling about W Academy? Nervous?"

Ivan fidgeted a little. "Da… You know I'm shy around strangers… But I want to make a lot of friends! I look forward to getting rowdy with everyone!" The tall blond considered himself reserved when addressing people he doesn't see as an acquaintance, which is normal. What isn't normal (and baffles people) is that he automatically regard someone as an acquaintance with lightning-speed, often jumping straight to the friendship zone. Once there, he feels comfortable to be his usual, intimidating, self.

"That's the spirit! You can do it!"

"Hmm… But I don't know much what people my age like to talk about or do when they hang out together… I can't recall doing anything besides study dates with my three friends that didn't end with crazy delinquents coming after us. I don't think punching people on the face counts as a friendly outing, da?"

"I know you were only protecting your friends, but if you get involved on fights, others will start avoiding you… Ah, I know! I'll show you that site! Let me use your computer for a sec."

Ivan made way for his sister and peered at the screen with curiosity. She kept talking while she opened the browser and typed an address: "There's this popular site amongst high schoolers called Hetalia Net. It has everything you need to have an amazing school life. News about the latest trends, reviews about dating spots, tips on being friendly and popular, a column about fashion… You name it and they have it!"

Soon, the browser loaded a colorful page with the name "Hetalia Net" written with big letters. Under it was a box to login or register. Ekaterina backed away from the notebook. "The best part is the customization feature. If you register, you will get an e-mail account and receive information based on your gender, school year, birthday and blood type. Come on, try it!"

Ushered by his sibling, Ivan filled out the registration form. Username: Russia98. Hetalia Net e-mail: russia98(a)heta. net. Backup e-mail: i. braginski(a)thrs. com. Gender: male. Birthday (mm/dd/yy): 12/30/98. Blood type: B. High School Year: 1. Password: ***********.

Soon, he received an authentication mail at his backup address. He confirmed his registration to the site and skimmed through the content. Katyusha was right, there is a lot of interesting and useful info at Hetalia Net, or Hetanet for short. He was about to open the link about a successful high school debut when another link caught his attention: "Part-time job for students?"

"That's right, I almost forgot!" Ekaterina tapped her own forehead as if she was a dummy for forgetting about it. "Remember 3 years ago when I got that part-time job at the flower shop? It was through this site! You fill out a curriculum form, attach a picture and send it to their database. Employers access the database and contact the students that fit their needs. Their database can only be used by trusted registered business, so there's no risk of being involved into something shady." The busty young woman shivered when she remembered the unsavory characters downtown that tried to recruit her more than once.

Her brother noticed the fear that ran through her body and the male's countenance darkened. Before he could question more about it, Ekaterina swiftly turned his attention to the site again. "Why don't you try it? If you want to make many friends and play with them, you'll need money. More than the pocket money you receive, anyway. Train fare, movie tickets and arcade coins aren't free, you know."

Ivan perceived his sister's tactics, but decided to indulge her and opened the link for part-time work. He filled in the form with his ID, characteristic, achievements and other info that he or Katyusha deemed relevant for a job. When he reached the part to attach a picture of himself, he searched for one at his image folder and pinpointed one that he deemed good enough.

Ivan liked that photo. He was smiling, so he looked amicable, but, at the same time, his posture told he was serious. If he was not mistaken, that picture was taken when he was convincing one of his classmates that it wasn't a good idea to throw paper balls during class. Especially if said paper balls bounced on his head. In other words, from the perspective of anyone else, he looked downright creepy.

"No, no, no! You are not using that picture!" Ekaterina looked a bit pale.

"Why not? Don't I look friendly and reliable?"

"Um, t-that's not it! It's the picture itself, you see…" The kind sister tried to dissuade him without telling that he looked like a madman. "Um, the image is a bit blurry and… The angle! Yes, the angle! You should be facing the camera, like in your ID? Otherwise it doesn't look professional enough for a curriculum."

"Da, that makes sense." He furrowed his eyebrows and eyed his folder. "But I don't have anything else…"

"Leave it to me, I can take your picture with your smartphone. I'll make sure you look perfect!"

Ekaterina took the phone and kept chatting about random stuff. Once she felt that the teenager relaxed and gave a genuine smile, she took the picture. Instead of the usual intimidating bear of a man, Ivan looked like as cuddly as a teddy bear with the soft smile and chubby cheeks. Now he wouldn't scare off potential employers with his photo. Satisfied with the shot, she sent it to the notebook.

After finishing the job application, Ivan went back to exploring Hetanet and discussing his findings with his sister. They spent their time talking about the so called 'high school debut', first impressions, makeovers, activities and the like. Soon, their parents arrived at almost the same time. After taking a shower and dressing up a bit, the family went out for dinner.

The restaurant wasn't a fancy, over-the-top place, but rather a cozy and well-kept Italian restaurant called Trattoria Roma. The pasta was delicious and the conversation mainly revolved around the oldest sibling and her college, since she's been away for a week. Ivan didn't mind and focused on relishing the food on his plate, following the chat from the sidelines. The dinner went by smoothly and the family returned home to rest and prepare for another day.

The next morning, Ivan woke up to the usual beeping of his alarm. Thankfully, this time the curtains were closed properly and he managed to laze around his bed for a while before getting up. He couldn't quite remember, but he had a good dream. He woke up feeling happy and warm inside. Oddly, he recalled dreaming about snow. The sight of snow usually made the ruski feel melancholic, but not this time. Brushing aside the oddity, he chose to dwell on the good feelings the dream gave him.

Humming a happy tune, the teenager freshened up and went downstairs to meet his older sister at the kitchen. She was making an awful lot of food.

"Sestra? What are you doing?"

"Oh, good morning! I'm cooking the food we bought yesterday for lunch."

"Isn't it a bit early for lunch?"

"Oh, well…" Ekaterina fidgeted a little. "You know, I decided to leave this morning instead of the afternoon." She made a resolute face and decided to spill the beans: "I'm going to drop by St. Thaddeus before I begin university. I'm having lunch with Natasha."

Ivan paled and his eyes bulged out when he heard his little sister's name and looked around to confirm she wasn't anywhere near him.

"Oh, she's a lot better, you know!" the young woman tried to reassure her frightened brother. "I visited her during summer and winter breaks and she really calmed down. She doesn't try to escape anymore."

"S-She tried to escape?!" His voice cracked and hit a high pitch. Now he proceeded to check every hiding place around: under the table, inside the cabinets, the pantry, outside the window and outside the door.

"Um, no, no! Only during the first year, and she never managed to do it! Now she's back to her normal, lovely self. You know, our sweet little Natasha? She's even taking gymnastics practice. Do you remember how her eyes sparkled while she watched the competitions?"

"O-oh… That's… good." The ruski calmed down and turned his attention to his breakfast. While he was eating in silence, Ekaterina finished cooking lunch.

"Remember to put the food inside the fridge once they cool down, ok?"

Ivan only nodded and stood up to wash the dishes. His older sister tried to come up with an idea to break the ice and a metaphorical lamp lit over her head. The corner of her lips crooked upside forming a smile similar to her brother's.

"Say, Vanya~"

Uh-oh. That sing-song voice meant trouble. "…Da…?"

"You talked a lot about making friends yesterday, but…" Her eyes twinkled dangerously "What about having a girlfriend?"

"W-what?!" He almost broke the cup he was putting away.

"Now that will stay practically alone after living so long surrounded by women, big sister is a bit worried~" Her smile grew and now rivaled a chesire cat "Wouldn't it be nice to have the company of a nice girlfriend, huh?"

"Well, I.. Uh…"

"I know you are a good catch. Handsome, intelligent, strong and sensitive…"

"I haven't thought… I mean, friends are enough… I don't even know how-"

Ekaterina mood switched suddenly from playful to serious and considered her flustered brother's words. She was only joking around, but she meant it about being worried. Then she made a decision: "Alright, I'm going to help you."

"Helping with what?" Realization dawned on him "Nyet, you are not playing matchmaking with me!"

"No, that's not it. I will teach you how to flirt" Katyusha gave a little wink. Ivan was left speechless. "You know, how to approach someone. Do a little skinship."

"I-I don't know. I don't think it's a good idea…"

"It will be useful with your friends too! There's also friendly skinship." Her brother didn't seem convinced, so she elaborated a bit more: "You know, I never said to you before, but… Approaching your friends from behind and suddenly grabbing their shoulder isn't good. Instead of making a good impression, you end up scaring them."

Well, now that makes sense. Maybe that's the reason his three friends always seemed nervous around him… Ivan frightened them, but since they were such good friends, they stayed around and talked instead of running away. Now that he thinks about it, a lot of people have ran away from him. Perhaps taking those 'skinship lessons' from his sister wasn't such a bad idea at all.

"Hmmm… Ok… So, what else?" Now he was all ears.

"Let's go to the basics. It's a step-by-step process. First, you need to respect their personal space. So, no touching or getting too close. To get their attention, wave or call. During interaction, use your eyes. Glance, look, stare… Ok, let's practice a bit. Come over here." Ivan went closer to his sister. "Let's pretend we are walking side by side. Try stealing glances at me with the corner of your eyes."

He did just as instructed but was interrupted: "No, no, no, you are being too obvious. Stealing glances. Subtle." He tried again. "Now you are being too sneaky, I can't catch you at all. If I don't, then I won't know you are doing it and then it won't impact the relationship. Your eyes need to linger milliseconds on me when I look back at you before you break eye contact. It's actually very tricky."

After a few more tries and Ekaterina got satisfied with the results, she ordered something else: "Now look at my eyes, as if we are talking about something nice. Don't be so stiff, or the person will think you are intimidating. Yes, more like that. Next, is… Hmmm… I know: stare at my boobs."

"What?! Why?" He was caught unguarded. Everything seemed normal up until now.

"You know, stare. At my boobs. Sometimes you need to let your eyes linger somewhere you like or where the person is proud of. Like a silky hair, pretty fingers, a nice outfit, cute earrings… And I'm very proud of my 'girls'. It will show that you are interested and you pay attention."

"I don't know about that…" Ivan's mind processed the information. His sister was saying to stare at her, uh, assets. And that she was proud of them. If she was telling him to do it, that means it's normal. If it's normal… Does she mean it happens a lot? And she likes it? HE certainly didn't like it. Random guys staring at Katyusha's boobs, that is.

"Ok, good, that's it. Not so hard, was it?" Ekaterina's words brought him back to reality and he realized that he indeed stood there staring while he was lost in thoughts. He blushed and turned away.

"The next step is light touches. Brushing off leaves or dirt from the other's hair, tugging their clothes, poking their arm… Things like that. After that comes lingering skinship: putting your arm over their shoulder, stay side-by-side with arms and/or hips touching, holding hands. Try it."

The teenager took some time to overcome his embarrassment and did it. It wasn't difficult, he was used to doing such gestures with his sisters. It was normal to fuss with their hair, tug or poke to demand attention, hold hands when they were little, sit cramped on the small coach between the girls with their sides touching.

"Perfect. And now…" Her eyes were filled with mirth. "This kind of skinship can only be done with people you are really close. Really, really, close. Like siblings or best friends." She poked his forehead. "If you do this kind of teasing when you are not that close" Gave him a little flick. "The other party may get mad. And to finish it, the ultimate skinship… TICKLE ATTACK!"

"Bwahaha! Ses-sestra! S – haha! – stop!"

"Aaaand, that's it." She patted his head and then tears pooled at the corner of her eyes. "Sniff… My little Vanya really is all grown up. Now he's such a dashing young man…" She gave her brother a big hug. Ivan patted her back in a soothing way and she released him. "Ok, now I need to go. Have a nice day at school tomorrow. Be sure to bundle up, don't catch a cold, you hear me?"

Ekaterina was back at her normal motherly self. The tall teenager relaxed and smiled more. She rarely ever teased her siblings, but when she did she was a force to be reckoned with. The mood brightened up after Katyusha's little antics. Then he realized this was probably what she wanted from the beginning: to cheer him up and make him forget about depressing topics. Such a cunning older sister.

* * *

><p><strong>Author notes:<strong>

The chapter's name is a line from Russia's song "Having Friends is Nice". Such a cute song, I love his Japanese seyuu. hearts

Alucard is the name of a café in Tokimemo. I have no idea why it's called Alucard, but there will be no Castlevania cameos on my fanfiction. It has nothing to do with vampires, believe me.

Yay to Ivan trying to be friendly and failing! Seriously, if I ever receive such voicemail from a creepy, tall and strong guy like him, I would be scared to death. In Lithuania's message it sounds like he murdered someone, cut up the corpse, stuffed in a bag then discarded somewhere (or 'somewheres') around the town. Also, he sounds like he wants to make Eduard scream. Or that he threatened Raivis that something bad will happen if he doesn't behave.

I don't think Himaruya-sensei ever informed the characters' blood types. I've chosen B for Ivan because B-type is considered optimistic, strong, focused, driven (strong-willed/hardheaded), unpredictable and unforgiving. I think it sums up Russia's personality pretty well.

The site and part-time job are vital features of Tokimemo. Let's see how Ivan puts the Hetanet advices for use, eh?

The approach-mode (psp) or skinship (ds) is one of the most interesting things in the game. If you get too 'handsy', the guy will get mad. But if you play your cards right, you can reap lots of affection points in one date. Unfortunately, the skinship (DS) creates one of the most WTF moments of the game: the skinship tutorial. If you thought it was bad enough between Russia and Ukraine, in the actual game it's worse. You use the DS stylus to poke, slide and rub your younger brother (that looks like 10 or something) on TGMS1, or your kid neighbor in TGMS2 or your shouta-looking teacher in TGMS3. That's disturbing.

**Translation notes: **(if you forgot)

Sestra: sister

Otets: father

Da/nyet: yes/no

Katyusha, Vanya and Natasha: endearing nicknames


End file.
